Beshear fundraising far outpaces challenger

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has banked$6.3 million for his general election campaign since May, far morethan either of his two political opponents, and has $1 million lefton hand to spend in the final weeks of the campaign, according tofinancial reports filed Wednesday. An independent political group funded in part by the horseindustry and labor unions raised an additional $1.3 million tosupport the Democratic incumbent's candidacy in what has become afinancially lopsided race. Republican challenger David Williams filed a report with theKentucky Registry of Election Finance on Wednesday showing heraised $1 million for his general election campaign since May, andindependent Gatewood Galbraith, a Lexington attorney, collected$166,000. Beshear aides boasted Wednesday of raising more than $9.5million in cash and in-kind contributions since the re-electioncampaign kicked off. That, plus the money raised independently bythe political group Kentucky Family Values, would bring the overalltotal raised for Beshear's re-election to at least $10.8 million. Kentucky Family Values filed a financial report showing it hasspent $1.1 million since June airing TV ads attacking Williams,Beshear's chief opponent, most notably for spending $17,000 torenovate his Senate office and to purchase a big-screen TV. The report showed the group's largest donor was the DemocraticGovernors Association, which gave $500,000. The Kentucky EducatorsPolitical Action Committee, the political arm of the KentuckyEducation Association, gave $400,000. Other major contributors included prominent players in thestate's thoroughbred industry. Keeneland and Turfway Park each gave$50,000. Lexington Thoroughbred Breeders Association gave $40,000.Kentucky Downs gave $10,000. Numerous labor unions gave $10,000 to$30,000 each. The horse industry has gotten behind Beshear because headvocates legalizing slots at race tracks, a proposal that statelawmakers have refused to approve. The Beshear campaign reported Wednesday that $4.1 million incash and in-kind contributions have come in since the May primaryelection. That's in addition to roughly $2 million he carried overfrom his primary election campaign. "Almost 7,000 people contributed during this filing period andover 12,000 for the entire campaign," said campaign manager BillHyers. Hyers said the campaign also has pre-purchased $1 million intelevision advertising for the final weeks of the race, which isn'treflected in the financial report. "While this report speaks to the strong and broad support Gov.Beshear and Jerry Abramson have received, Gov. Beshear remainsfocused on his responsibilities as governor - primarily his goal tocreate a job for every Kentuckian who needs one," Hyers said in astatement. Galbraith reported Wednesday that he has spent $163,000 sinceJanuary. His report also showed a $179,000 debt, and that he hadslightly more than $2,500 in the bank as of Oct. 7. Williams reported $764,000 in disbursements since May and$261,000 on hand. But Williams also has gotten a boost from anindependent political group that bought television advertisingspots to promote his campaign. Bluegrass Prosperity filed a financial report with the stateWednesday showing $1.3 million in contributions from the RepublicanGovernor's Association to support the Williams campaign. Thosegroups produced ads attacking Beshear and promoting Williams'candidacy. Williams' father-in-law, Terry Stephens of RussellSprings, contributed $1 million to the Republican Governor'sAssociation earlier this year. All of Kentucky's candidates for statewide office have to filefinancial disclosure reports by midnight Wednesday. Those reportslist the names of financial donors and also provide details aboutexpenditures.

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